You Should Know Your Lover
by Stalker Fudge
Summary: Short 3 Chapter Fluff-ish Skate Sawyer/Kate piece. AU - as if Sawyer had not jumped off the plane. Kate realizes during nap time that she really doesn't know much about the man she loves and they have to have 'the talk'. T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

I'm still working on rewrites, and I promise to have one up next week, its just been crazy around here and my writing hadn't been coming out the way that I'd wanted to follow the new ending, so I had to do a bit of plot changing. But the Frimples Rewrite is still on. :)

This story is one that popped into my mind tonight while listening to my iPod and the entire thing will be split up into three short parts that I'm doing as chapters because its easier to work them that way. They were written very late night and not sent to my beta as its just meant to be a quick one-shot of mostly Sawyer/Kate fluff. This is sort of AU as it is written from the 'real world' after the helicopter rescue as if Sawyer had never had to jump off and he was one of the survivors. The 3 years later still applies.

I'm going to try and post up all 3 "chapters" tonight.

Part 1 – The set up, background information and general cuteness.

Part 2 – I guess we could call this the mini-conflict of the fluff piece a cute-ish discussion that will lead to --

Part 3 – The part that came to me in the inspiration of the music and will be the resolution of the mini-conflict.

Disclaimer – I don't own anything but the plot idea, everything else has its respective owners and I make no money off this writing whatsoever. Trust me. Its 4:30 in the morning as I just finish part 1... I couldn't make money with it if I tried. ;)

Hope you enjoy anyways!

~-~-~-~

Sawyer kept as still as possible against the bed, eyes locked down on Kate as she shifted a bit against his chest in her sleep, arm curled about him as they lay together in bed, the sun's rays were blocked by the dark curtains pulled over the windows, per Sawyer's request in order to avoid being woken by the morning sun ever again. He had dealt with that enough on the island, and now that they were free there were a lot of things that he was doing differently. He had sat behind her at the trial and fretted and feared over possibly losing her to the horrors of jail. That was what had brought him back to her side in the first place. When they announced her freedom he met her out back, Jack had come to and there had been that moment that had been building for three and a half years. Kate's choice.

He was only surprised to find that there was no shock in him as she gave Jack a friendly hug and told him that he was welcome to come back and see Aaron when Jack could be civil towards Sawyer and accept that she'd cut things off completely between them. She took his hand and led him back to her place and he just hadn't left since, he loved waking up next to her, either to her gentle kisses urging him to wake or to watch her sleep until Aaron came to softly knock for them on the door to come and get breakfast together. They had a strange family, but it worked.

Before he'd got together with Kate, he had made an attempt at finding Cassidy and his daughter and taking up responsibility, at least as far as an apology and a chunk of his settlement check, but he hadn't even gotten a foot in the door before Cass slammed it in his face, and he supposed that he deserved that. But when he told Kate about it, she had worked wonders, and although it was awkward, he at least got a chance to see his daughter perform at her dance recital, even if he wasn't allowed to have much of a relationship with her, only allowed to give her flowers at the recital and a chance to help out with some bills that they had fallen behind on. Cass still didn't trust him and was constantly trying to convince Kate not to either, but Kate and him seemed stable and she worked on the woman for more of a relationship, more than he deserved, he knew. Naturally he knew that he wouldn't get it from Kate's pleas, there was no denying the jealousy that Cassidy felt for every moment that Sawyer could commit to Kate, and that was what kept him from his daughter.

Sawyer's fingers swept back through her hair softly and he smiled just a bit to himself, slowly leaning his body down to kiss her forehead, he could tell by the sound of her breathing that she was close to waking on her own, and he wanted her to wake to the more peaceful scene in the morning.

"Mornin' Freckles." He drawled down into her ear and she smiled a bit, still half asleep.

"S'not mornin' yet. Can't be." She spoke, voice a bit rough in her sleep as she held him tighter, as if insisting that he fall back asleep with her and rebel against the day that lay ahead of them.

"And why couldn't it be morning yet Baby?" His fingers moved down to caress over the side of her face and down her arm. His lips found their own trail over the side of her neck.

"Too comfy." She mumbled slightly, but she was leaning into each action, clearly more awake than she had been seconds before. "An' gotta be dreaming. Feels too good."

Sawyer chuckled at her words, ducking his head down to softly place his lips against hers, smirking against her lips, his hand started to slowly trail down her side, then back up again, pulling up the silky tank that sufficed as her sleeping top along with his hand. "Can make it feel better." He assured her, speaking against her lips.

Kate moaned softly but shook her head slowly, not completely breaking the kiss, lips still pressed together, her eyes still closed. "Aaron's up soon." She reminded him slowly. "Gotta get me up earlier for morning delight James." Her eyes slowly fluttered open as she pressed her lips a bit more against his in soft, massaging kisses, eyes meeting his in a moment of peace, and his hand still brushed over her side slowly and sensually, slipping around to her stomach and inching up more, fingers tingling her skin, leaving behind a trail of goosebumps on their way to-

A knocking on the door and a muffled call for breakfast. Sawyer groaned and rolled off to the side as Kate chuckled.

"Oh, tagged out just before second base." A mock look of pain on her face as she shook her head. "So close." Leaning up on her arm and looking down towards him.

"Yeah well - wait till next inning." Pushing himself up to slide off the bed and slide some jeans on over his boxers.

"Nap time then?"

"Nap time. Its on." Moving to zip and button his fly before crossing to press his lips to hers, though there was another knock and they were both chuckling together. "We're comin'." Arm slipping about her waist to lead her out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Alright, so here's part 2. I'm gonna have part 3 up tomorrow, [or rather, this afternoon] because now it is about 7 and I need to go get some sleep for awhile.

An important thing to note on this chapter is that Kate and Sawyer have not been together three years, just what they had on the island and then the few months after Kate's trial until this point here, the set up makes the whole plot fit up together the way I need it to.

~-~-~-~

Kate shifted to flop down on the couch tiredly, shifting to throw an arm out towards the remote, flipping on the television and letting her eyes settle on the screen, watching a young couple arguing on one of those ridiculous shows that require big security guards to break up a fight every seven minutes or so. She made a slight face as the man accused the woman across from him of 'never speaking to him.' He seemed to think that he really should have been the first to know his wife was a lesbian, not the last. Her lover came out on the screen to cat calls and boos and revealed herself to be a man, and then her – his lover – said that she – he, god this was impossible to keep track of – should have told her first, not on the television. Then the host looked into the camera oblivious to the woman who was streaking across the back of the screen, being chased by the security guards, and asked the viewing audience if anyone ever truly knew their lover.

Kate scoffed and changed the channel, shifting a bit more against the couch, just staring at the screen as the message and images festered in her mind. Couples fighting, claiming they should have known these deep secrets of the people they professed to love. That was always possible in any relationship, expected really, lies. But honestly, how had she not been having a nervous breakdown over this before? Her and Sawyer weren't popular for being the most honest people in the world. How much did she actually know about him? What big secrets did he have locked away, ready to tumble out and destroy their relationship?

She heard his footsteps down the hall and she sat straight up, flipping off the television as if she was watching something disgusting that he should never see, though of course he had noticed the channel and came in with a quirked eyebrow and a confused gaze rested on her. "Somethin' wrong Baby?" He shifted to sit behind her on the couch, arms reaching out to pull her against his chest. "You mad at the Sham Wow guy or somethin'?"

"What?"

Sawyer's hand reached out and took the remote from her in order to flip on the television to show Vince showing off the amazing absorbency of the strange towel on his little swatch of carpet on the table in front of him and Sawyer chuckled a bit more, shaking his head. "The con that keeps on givin'." He muttered, rolling his eyes ever so slightly.

"You think the Sham Wow is a con?"

"It ain't called the _Sham_ Wow for nothin' Freckles." He nodded his head, moving to flip off the television before wrapping her up more completely in his arms. "There's something sketchy about that guy anyways. I just plain don't like him." He turned his head to kiss her neck, but Kate seemed to be thinking about something, so he just held her, watching and waiting for her to snap back to reality.

As soon as she turned her head to look at him she had formed possibly the most insane question she'd asked in her life. "Say – speaking of cons and liars and feelings... are you really a woman?"

"_What_?" Sawyer had to do a double take at her question, completely blindsided and not expecting anything of the sorts ever. Clearly he was insulted by her question. "Kate..."

"Look, its totally cool if you are, we'll work something out James I just – think it'd be best and would appreciate it deeply if you would tell me now and here in private instead of with a large crowd watching us and picking sides and naked women running around buildings and - "

"The hell are you on about Kate?" Sawyer interrupted her, shifting to push her just the slightest bit up off his chest. "You really think I'm a woman?" He seemed ready for a fight, but he was too confused to even do much of that, just lost in his own mind for a moment.

"Not think just... you've never said -"

"I thought it went without sayin' Freckles. Even if we hadn'ta had sex before... and – if it didn't, shouldn't the sex have clued ya in-"

Kate held up a hand with a heavy sigh. "No. I know James, that you are very much a man-"

"Then what's with the question and the awkward way you're goin' about all this now?" Still moving to twist her around a bit more.

"I just... what I really wanna know is who are you? Really I mean.. cause, we've been living together and there's a lot that I don't know about you." Kate went on, pushing her hair back behind her ears.

Sawyer groaned a bit, just looking at her near frantic face and he leaned back, resting his head against his hand, eyes on her. "Like what?" He humored her for a moment, he needed her to calm down and be a bit more rational with him.

"Like... what's your favorite food?"

"Steak." He answered simply with a nod, eyes locked on hers and giving her answers to her simple little quiz that she was beginning. All about him. His chest puffed out the slightest bit more, as if he were trying to further solidify his standing as very much of a man.

"When is your birthday?" She was appalled not to even know this simple piece of information.

Sawyer winced a bit at her question and hesitated before finally saying. "Couple days ago."

"What!" Kate moved up on her knees. "We missed your birthday and you didn't say anything about it? James how could you? And after you were so sweet on my birthday.. you didn't even give me a chance to do anything special for you?"

"Freckles, I'm not big on birthdays. Haven't been since I turned nine years old and – growing old just doesn't sound like something to celebrate for me." He paused, shifting forward a bit more with a nod. "Plus I got to spend it with you, waking up at your side and spending the whole day with you and Aaron."

Kate turned her eyes on him and she seemed to be pouting a bit, arms tightly folded over her chest, face set in a deep frown as she let out a heavy sigh. "We're celebrating your birthday." She told him simply, crossing her legs. "Soon as I figure out what to get you, I'm gonna go get everything ready and you and me are going to have a small party together for the birthday you made me miss." There was no room for argument in her tone, as if Sawyer dared to argue the point against her, as upset as she'd been before.

Sawyer slowly nodded his head slowly with a heavy sigh and waited for her to continue. "What's next?"

"What's your favorite color?"

"Green."

"Book?"

"Lord of the Flies."

"Movie?"

"Indiana Jones."

Kate seemed to freeze on that answer, eyes just locked on him, frozen there and Sawyer felt himself growing nervous at her stare, shifting a bit more under her gaze as he winced.

"Freckles, what is it? I grow another head or somethin'?" Sawyer rose an eyebrow at her as he received nothing but a slow shake of the head in return. "Freckles?"

"I gotta go." She finally whispered, pushing up to her feet and turning to walk out the door at a brisk pace, her face seemed kind of flushed and there was something that flashed through her eyes and Sawyer moved to his feet to go after her, but he knew he couldn't leave the house and Aaron, hesitating in the doorway and just looking out after her as she walked down the street.

"Freckles! Come back here..." He watched her step to the corner and wave her hand towards a taxi that pulled over to pick her up. "Sonofa-" He groaned, rubbing his eyes and then his temples as if fighting back a headache before walking back to lie down on the couch and wait for his insane and flighty girlfriend to get back home.


	3. Chapter 3

And here, finally is the finale of the 3 part short fic. The part that was my inspiration and is, in all honestly, a little bit self-indulgent, but I don't believe that it really is that unbelievable. Or really unbelievable at all. ;) haha. Anyways, I hope that this short story was enjoyed. I had fun writing it, even if it was unedited and mostly written in a near exhausted state.

~-~-~-~

Sawyer sat on the couch, reading Aaron one of his many children's stories as the boy rested on his lap and against his chest. The scene looked rather peaceful from the outside but all Sawyer could think about was the wasted nap time where he hadn't even had a chance to step up to the plate before Kate had taken off in such a rush. She had been gone for several hours and the look in her eyes before taking off was stuck in his mind. He didn't recognize that look at all and the longer she was gone, the longer he was worried about her mental state as she had took off running.

Sawyer heard a knock on the door and he shifted to set the book down and lift Aaron more into his arms, turning to walk to the door, unlocking it and pushing it open, eyes settling down upon the girl who was on the front steps and he shifted Aaron a bit more. "Lori?" He asked, a bit surprised to see the babysitter standing in the doorway. He tried to think and remember if they had been planning to go anywhere they couldn't take Aaron that afternoon, but they didn't really have any plans. They had only used Lori once since Kate's trial.

Lori grinned and stepped closer, holding out her hands towards Aaron, who went to her eagerly enough, giving her a large hug. "Kate called and asked me to take him to the park and back to my place for pizza and a movie. She said to tell you that she's almost done and you should get ready because you guys are going out tonight." Lori shifted Aaron a bit more on her hip with a smile. "Have fun." She turned to walk back out of the house with the boy on her hip, leaving behind a very confused Sawyer.

Kate was home half an hour later, pulling on his hand and assuring him that they were going to have fun, leaning up to press her lips against his as she pulled him out of the house, hand in hand to get into the taxi, snuggling up against his chest as he just kept his eyes locked down on her. "Trust me James." Kate chuckled, fingers brushing over his side in the back of the taxi. They stopped in front of the local steakhouse and Kate pulled the door of the cab open, paying the fare and then held out her hands towards Sawyer with a grin.

"This what you were doing for three hours Freckles? Making reservations and -"

"I had to go shopping." Kate laughed, waiting for him to reach out and open the door for her.

"Well Freckles, I was kinda hopin' my birthday gift wasn't gonna be from no store." He admitted, eyes rolling over her body a bit with a smirk. Kate just scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"I know you were." She assured him with a nod. "Don't worry about it. There's a reason that Lori's supposed to take Aaron back to her place for movies and not home." Leaning forward to press her lips against his just inside the door of the steakhouse and Sawyer made a mental note that the look in Kate's eyes before she had taken off had definitely not been a bad look.

One steak dinner and a single shared ice cream cone later, they were walking back into the house, closing and locking the door and Sawyer looked back to Kate with a light chuckle, leaning up to lick the last bit of ice cream off of he tip of her nose before leaning in to kiss her. "Date was perfect Freckles." He assured her with a soft nod, fingers moving to brush back through her hair.

Kate nodded her head. "Gifts now." She announced, moving to take a couple store-wrapped boxes out of the closet where she had stored them after getting home from shopping. She crossed to the couch and sat down, setting the boxes in front of her expectantly, waiting for Sawyer to join her and sit down across from her.

"Freckles-"

"Open this one first." She held out the thinner package towards him with a smile and he rolled his eyes but smiled at her, moving to unwrap the gift, seeing a beige shirt in the box and he rose an eyebrow at her slightly. "Shirt's nice Freckles." He said with a nod, and Kate was reaching out to pull off the shirt he was wearing.

"Put it on." She instructed, once he was shirtless.

Sawyer slowly slipped on the shirt and moved to button it, but his hands were just swatted away and Kate moved to button up the bottom few buttons, leaving the top of his muscular chest exposed, leaning forward to press her lips to his exposed skin in a few light kisses before pulling back to smirk at him.

"You wanna see what I got myself while I was out?" Kate asked slowly, eyebrow arched and she had to chuckle at Sawyer's silent nod. Slowly she gripped the hem of her shirt and pulled it up over her head to show off the new lacy black push-up bra from Victoria's Secret, still sitting in front of him, letting him take in the full sight with a bit of a chuckle. "You like it?"

Sawyer reached out a hand to brush over her soft skin, tracing a pattern over her stomach, just watching her in amazement for a moment before she brought his attention to the second box.

"Open." She told him with a smile. "And then we'll play."

Sawyer looked down at the box and with the promise over his head of making up for that morning and then nap time, he ripped into it rather quickly. Though he paused as he looked down into the box and he looked back up at her, shaking his head and laughing. "That look.."

"Put it on, birthday boy." Moving to push up to her knees, a soft smirk and her hand reached out to touch his bare chest. "Please?" Her eyes locked on his, fingers trailing softly over his skin.

"You got a thing for Dr. Jones?" Pulling out the fedora in the box and placing it down on his own head. Kate slowly shrugged, moving the box to the side and reaching in it to pull out the leather whip that rested on the bottom of the box, handing it over to him before she crawled over his lap, straddling him a bit.

"Maybe." Her lips pressed against his, arms wrapping about his neck as she wrapped her legs about his waist to allow him to better lift her up in his arms and carry her back to bed.

Sawyer and Kate celebrated his belated birthday on the kitchen table, then again in the shower, and finally in the bed before both of them collapsed tiredly and fell asleep wound tightly together. Sawyer was the first to wake up after a couple hours nap, Kate curled up in his arms as he smiled, just watching her sleep for an extended moment.

Sawyer shifted to look down towards the whip that lay out over the ground just a little bit away from him. He reached down with one hand, the other wound tightly about Kate, holding her to his chest and being careful not to wake her up. His fingers elongated and reached until he got it in his hand, smiling and holding it as he reached up to touch his fedora, still rested upon his head with a slight chuckle. He situated, glancing down towards the sleeping Kate before he nodded, looking up to the ceiling with a smirk.

"I _am_ Indiana Jones."


End file.
